19 Mar 2021 09:37
Countryside Properties plc
Response to CMA announcement
Countryside notes today's announcement from the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) in relation to its ongoing inquiry into leasehold homes.
Countryside has sold no properties with doubling ground rent clauses since 2017 and we introduced the Ground Rent Assistance Scheme in 2020 to assist leaseholders whose ground rents doubled more frequently than every 20 years.
We will continue to engage constructively with the CMA to resolve this complex issue. Alongside these discussions, its resolution will require the engagement of a number of other parties, including certain freehold owners, for a satisfactory solution to be found.
Enquiries:
Countryside Properties plc - 01277 260 000
Mike Scott - Group Chief Financial Officer
Victoria Prior - Managing Director, Corporate Affairs
Brunswick Group LLP - 020 7404 5959
Nina Coad
Oliver Sherwood
Notes to Editors
Under the Ground Rent Assistance Scheme, we aim to seek agreement from freehold owners to vary the leases of Countryside customers who still own homes with a leasehold ground rent that doubles more frequently than every 20 years. This is linked to the rate of RPI, consistent with the Leasehold Pledge. As part of this scheme, Countryside has offered to pay the legal fees incurred by leaseholders associated with varying the terms of the lease.